Even before Michael Brown’s slaying in Ferguson, racial questions hung over police - The Washington Post

Even before Michael Brown’s slaying in Ferguson, racial questions hung over police - The Washington Post: FERGUSON, Mo. — When an unarmed black teenager and a police officer crossed paths here last weekend with fatal results, the incident cast a blinding spotlight on a small police department struggling for authority and relevance in a changing community.

Since the shooting, the department has been criticized for how police have handled the response to the incident and for not disclosing key details, including the name of the officer involved.

The department bears little demographic resemblance to the citizens of this St. Louis suburb, a mostly African American community whose suspicions of the law enforcement agency preceded Saturday afternoon’s shooting of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old who this week had been headed to technical college.